Schwedes is one of the longest running Bulldogs fan in Horsham, having followed the team for more than 70 years. 

Schwedes watched his team rise from wooden spooners to sixth position and then fight its way to the grand final. 

The final minutes of Saturday’s six point win against the GWS Giants saw Schwedes sitting on the edge of his lounge room seat. 

“I picked them out in the paper 70 years ago and I have followed them ever since,” he said. 

“I was amazed when they got in front, I was very pleased with them. 

“They seem to be a good bunch of young guys.” 

While grandchildren Elijah, Reuben and Lucy all follow the Western Bulldogs after their grandfather, Schwedes’ wife and children support other AFL teams, including the Sydney and Collingwood.  

“My son goes for the Swans up in Sydney. I sure will be giving him a call if we win,” Schwedes said. 

Schwedes said he was proud to see his grandchildren following the Bulldogs. 

“Elijah rang me up after they won, he has never been so excited in his life,” he said. 

Elijah said he felt much the same and that his family pride for the Bulldogs refuses to waver. 

“Grandpa got me into it, when I was born he put a beanie straight on my head,” he said. 

“Whenever I was at my grandparents place he would make me watch it. 

“I remember he had this bear that you pressed the button and it sang the club song - grandma took the battery out because she was sick of hearing it!”

Schwedes and Elijah said they planned to watch the grand final together, alongside the rest of the family in their Bulldogs gear. 

“I wouldn’t watch it without Grandpa or my brother,” Elijah said. 

“I don’t think Grandpa thought I was going to follow them since the Bulldogs haven’t been a great club, winning wise. But I did.”